That’s the question many of us have been asking in recent weeks since it was confirmed Aldi want to move to the area.

The obvious answer is, of course, no.

No town the size of Rawtenstall needs two Tescos, an Asda, a Marks and Spencer food hall and a Lidl all within two miles of the town centre, with a Morrison’s for good measure a little further down the road in Bacup.

Indeed, the decision by the Co-op to pull out of Bacup within two years of Morrison’s opening up in the town has not gone down particularly well there – and rather proves the point.

There is, however, a bigger issue at stake surrounding the expansion of the newly-opened retail park at New Hall Hey. And that’s what exactly the big plan for Rawtenstall town centre really is, if a big a plan exists at all.

Assuming the new development gets approved – and there’s every reason to assume it will – within 18 months we will have a retail park with seven major shops on there – including the three already open – plus some sort of eatery or coffee shop.

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Along with the new McDonald’s opening up on the other side of the dual carriageway, the entrance to Rawtenstall will be pretty much like the main entrance to any other town in the UK – dominated by big retail names.

That’s fine, as far as it goes, but there’s precious little evidence that anything is being done to benefit the local traders who depend on getting people into Rawtenstall’s true town centre – in and around Bank Street – to survive. If anything, by approving the expansion to New Hall Hey, Rossendale Council will essentially create a mini second town centre which will compete with the existing town centre – at a time when traders in and around Bank Street will be enduring the major upheaval due to be triggered by the not-needed new bus station in the town centre.

Of course, 100 new jobs are to be welcomed and there is a very strong argument that says if big business wants to invest here, they should be welcomed with open arms, and indeed they should.

But who at Futures Park is assessing the price local traders might pay?

From everything I’ve know about our local traders, they are not nimbys who oppose any change which could make their lives harder. Indeed, time and again they overcome various challenges – new supermarkets, never-ending roadworks and so on – and the town centre is richer for their dedication.

But where’s the plan which shows that Rossendale Council is going to make sure the new retail development benefits the local traders?

The New Hall Hey roundabout effectively cuts the town centre in two at the moment, and there has to be a plan which encourages people to park their cars at the new retail park and walk into the main town centre.

Because parking can be tricky in Rawtenstall at the best of times – and you can pretty much guarantee it will become harder as bus station work gets under way. Approving a new retail park at the same time surely runs the risk of changing shopping habits for good – and not for the better.

Rawtenstall is almost unique in that it has the potential to be developed but also has something special to preserve. That’s a precious situation to be in and requires careful consideration. I’m not sure a retail park on the edge of town does Rawtenstall justice.

'Extremely good news'.......about closing museum

The man in charge of Lancashire museums confirmed last week that Helmshore Textile Museum would close at the end of September, but that talks were continuing with ‘interested parties’ about taking over the running of the museum.

Councillor Marcus Johnstone, said: “This is extremely good news for the future of these museums. There is obviously still a lot of work to do but it is very encouraging to see such robust and well-thought-through business plans.

“In an ideal world we would not have been forced into this position but as we no longer have the funding to keep these cultural resources open we can at least do a thorough job to ensure that they have a sustainable future.”

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Quite how putting the padlocks on the doors at Helmshore Textile Museum is ‘extremely good news’ is beyond me.

To argue that the council has been forced into this position is nonsense. Yes, their budget is in a critical mess due to a combination of past decisions at county hall and, more importantly, the dreadful cuts being imposed by the government.

But this is the same council which can find millions of pounds to build a bus station in Rawtenstall, despite precious little proof that is needed or wanted. Indeed, there’s no guarantee the county council will still be funding many of the bus services which use the existing bus station once the new one is open.

Councillors will argue that spending money on building things isn’t spending money which could be diverted to keep services running, but I’d argue back that there’s little point building things if you can’t afford to keep on doing what people expect you to do now.

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I also fail to see why the museums couldn’t remain open until a deal was done to keep them open for good. Look at how the Whitaker Museum has gone from strength to strength since Rossendale Council arranged an orderly transfer of control, compared to the battle campaigners have in Haslingden to re-open the pool Rossendale Council shut far too hastily.

One day, common sense will prevail at County Hall. Let’s hope it’s not too late for Helmshore Textile Museum when it does.

Town square could be a focal point

Rawtenstall Town Square

The Town Square which we currently have in Rawtenstall is an under-used asset which someone should be working to make more of.

When I say someone, I mean someone at the council. After all, they diverted money meant to provide Haslingden with a new swimming pool to pay for the purchase and demolition of the grotty shopping centre and did promise to make it a focal point for local life.

Of course, it looks far better than the old shopping centre did, but it still feels like a space which could be better used – for as long as we have it, of course.

We do have welcome markets on there some Sundays, and fairs seem to turn up quite often too.

But surely, there’s more which could be done there. Bearing in mind that whenever more shops are proposed, the over-riding response is ‘How about some leisure facilities’ surely there’s a clue there?

I’ll chuck an idea in. I read recently about the city of Perugia in Italy. They roll a huge piece of paper down the main, pedestriansed, street, and encourage families to turn up and paint on it.

It draws hundreds of families into the town, who then go and spend money elsewhere in the town – and costs very little to deliver.

We really should be making the most of that space while we still have it.